My Trip to Wal-Mart

by Itzel

I went to Wal-Mart a few weeks ago and took a stroll through the toy section. I gazed upon the things I once played with myself when I was a little girl. I noticed that nearly every doll was white. Not many toys were African-American, Latino or Asian. The boy's toys had a slightly bigger race range than the girls, but it wasn't much better. Statistically speaking, it was fifteen white toys to every one minority toy.

You can't blame kids for acting a certain racist way when they are raised in a racist world. You just can't. Racism began with slavery and the need for money and it continues with the need for money. Why else would a company sell only white dolls? It's about market share. It's about what's pretty and popular in the public eye. When kids play together, most of their toys are white. Minority children will then view whites as the dominant race. They'll gain the perception that they are not considered the same. Even if the toys they play with are meant only for amusement, they are part of the judgment of race.

I realize that this might not sound bad for all, but for some it's the little things that build up to the big racism. No, kids will most likely not start a riot out of a demand for minority Barbies. But they will believe a lie about what is considered pretty in America. This type of racism is especially dangerous, because it's sugary and sweet like the soda that you drink?

The problem can be solved by toy companies independently extending their variety to include all races. If companies are all about making money, they should realize that with a bigger population of minorities, companies will someday realize that marketing racism isn't as effective as marketing diversity. Kids are the source of the future and if kids grow up believing believing they are just bumps in the road, then they won't think accurately about their own culture and they won't find much of a future at all.

Photo Source
Flickr Creative Commons
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shirleyware/456894017/